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Lenovo's new $50 Google Assistant-powered smart clock is now for sale

If a full-blown smart display seems too daunting, Lenovo's Smart Clock Essential might be the right choice for your bedside.

Rich Brown Former Senior Editorial Director - Home and Wellness
Rich was the editorial lead for CNET's Home and Wellness sections, based in Louisville, Kentucky. Before moving to Louisville in 2013, Rich ran CNET's desktop computer review section for 10 years in New York City. He has worked as a tech journalist since 1994, covering everything from 3D printing to Z-Wave smart locks.
Expertise Smart home, Windows PCs, cooking (sometimes), woodworking tools (getting there...)
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Rich Brown

Lenovo has made its $49 Smart Clock Essential available for purchase today. If you're like the idea of a smart speaker with a visual information element, but you're not yet ready to go full smart display, Lenovo's new Smart Clock Essential may be the right choice for you. 

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Lenovo

The Smart Clock Essential is a pared-down version of the Lenovo Smart Clock that launched last year. Where the 2019 edition had a full-color smart display built in to show your calendar and the feed from a smart camera, the 2020 version is basically just a black-and-white alarm clock display wrapped around a Google Assistant smart speaker. It will show you the time, the day of the week and the current temperature, but that's about it. It's a closer competitor to the Amazon Echo Dot with Clock than the Amazon Echo Show 5 smart display. 

As a smart speaker, the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential will still play music and you can still interact with it like you would with any Google Nest Mini speaker. It's also only $50, making it $10 cheaper than the Amazon's new, spherical Echo Dot with Clock. 

Lenovo says you'll find the Lenovo Smart Clock Essential available from Walmart and Best Buy, among other retailers.